This Winter Warmer Black Tea Blend from Grey’s Tea is a really nice alternative to the typical “orange spice” winter blend. Other orange spice blends often overwhelm the palate with spicy notes … nothing wrong with that, of course, because I like spicy tea, but, sometimes, it’s nice to have something on the gentle side.

This Winter Warmer is just that. Warmly spiced, but gently so. The clove is exotically sweet and has a comforting, cozy kind of flavor to it without going over the top. The citrus brightens the cup but does not overpower the flavor of the black tea. The orange-y notes taste sweet, a little tangy, but it isn’t overdone.

The black tea is really the star of this cup, and that – in my opinion – is just the way it should be. The black tea tastes robust with a mild-to-moderate amount of astringency which is accented by the citrus notes.

This is a really nice black tea – one that maybe isn’t quite strong enough to serve as a breakfast tea alternative … but instead, one I’d like to sip in the afternoon – it’s something that would warm me up and energize me at the same time.

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see.

Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog!

Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!